The Central Academy of Drama, located in the southern district of Beijing, is a century-old institution founded in the early 20th century. Every year, it attracts a large number of students with dreams of becoming stars and directors.
The academy has always maintained strict admission standards, requiring not only high scores on the national college entrance examination (Gaokao) but also professional interviews. This interview stage eliminates the vast majority of applicants. Even in an era where university entrance exams are becoming increasingly easier, applying to the drama academy remains a highly competitive process.
As a result, various "crash courses" and "training classes" that teach interview skills have sprung up.
Behind the drama academy lies a narrow street. Low-rise houses dot both sides of the street. Every summer, this small street, called Heqian Street, becomes bustling with activity. Many students and parents who come for interviews, unable to afford expensive hotels, rent rooms in these houses on this old street near the drama academy.
Heqian Street is also the most densely populated area for various training classes. Looking along the entire street, one can see a dense array of signs and posters of all sizes, with many classes even using slogans like "Guaranteed to pass the interview" to attract students.
It's past 10 PM.
Many training classes have ended, and the already somewhat chaotic and noisy Heqian Street becomes even more bustling. Many students hurry by carrying thick stacks of reference materials, and street vendors perk up and start loudly hawking their wares.
A powerful Hummer SUV is quietly parked at the entrance of an alley on Heqian Street. From a distance, two red dots can be faintly seen flashing inside the vehicle—someone is smoking in the driver's seat.
At this moment, a slightly pale-faced boy, carrying textbooks, walks out of the alley with his head down. The boy is about seventeen or eighteen years old, with unruly long hair, wearing a printed t-shirt with the image of the Great Leader, worn-out blue jeans, and high-top retro leather shoes. He exudes a decadent artistic air. The boy seemed lost in thought, his head bowed absentmindedly. Suddenly, someone strode towards him from the side, and the two collided head-on. Caught off guard, the boy felt a strong force and stumbled, falling against a Hummer SUV diagonally in front of him.
A look of anger flashed across the boy's face. He steadied himself against the Hummer, about to berate the person, but then realized the other person hadn't stopped walking, continuing briskly forward, disappearing into the night in a flash.
The boy was bewildered, but the person had come and gone so quickly; he hadn't even seen their face clearly, so he could only accept his bad luck. The boy spat in the direction the person had disappeared, squatted down to pick up his fallen books, then stood up to continue walking back to his rented room.
Just then, a lazy voice sounded behind the boy:
"Dude! It's not very nice of you to just leave like that, is it?"
The boy was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw two burly men getting out of the Hummer. The one who had spoken was the one in the printed t-shirt with a fierce face, while the other, a bald man in a sleeveless, tight-fitting shirt with hideous tattoos covering his arms, stood with his arms crossed in front of the car, also looking at him with hostility.
"Wh...what's wrong?" Seeing that these two men were both tall and strong with menacing eyes, and being in unfamiliar Beijing, the boy already felt a sense of fear.
"What's wrong?" The burly man in the printed t-shirt walked up to the boy, brought his head close to the boy's face, stared fiercely into his eyes, and sneered, "You scratched my car, and you think you can just walk away like that?"
The boy was terrified. He had only been bumped and lost his balance, falling towards the Hummer, so he reached out to steady it. How could he have scratched the car? He quickly waved his hands and said,
"You...you can't talk nonsense! I...I didn't scratch your...your car! I just steadied it!"
The burly man in the printed t-shirt sneered, grabbed the boy by the collar, and dragged him to the side of the car like an eagle snatching a cub. The bald man pulled out a powerful flashlight he had prepared beforehand and shone it near the gas tank cap on the rear door.
Under the flashlight beam, a long scratch was clearly visible to the boy. The shocking scratch ran from the rear door all the way to the rear fender. It was incredibly deep, stripping away both the topcoat and primer to reveal the steel underneath—clearly intentionally done with a sharp object.
"Don't make false accusations! I didn't do this at all!" the boy shouted in terror. "I just lightly touched the car with my hand, how could I have made such a deep scratch?"
Upon hearing this, the bald, burly man shone a powerful flashlight on the boy's pale face. The boy, startled by the light, instinctively closed his eyes. The bald man reached out and pinched the boy's chin, applying slight pressure, causing the boy to scream in pain.
The bald man grinned maliciously:
"You little brat, you scratched my car and you dare deny it? You've got a death wish! Stop talking nonsense and pay up!"
The boy realized he was being scammed. But being unfamiliar with the area and physically weak, he was clearly no match for the two burly men, so he could only stammer, "How much...how much do you want?"
At this moment, the burly man in the printed t-shirt chuckled and patted the boy's face, saying, "That's more like it! Didn't your mother teach you? When you're in this business, you have to admit your mistakes and stand up straight when you get beaten! Buddy, this is a brand new car I just picked up last week, still in its break-in period! And you've scratched it like this... Fine! I won't argue about that. A full repaint of a Hummer is about 80,000, plus labor costs and compensation for our emotional distress, let's round it up to 100,000!"
"100,000?" The boy almost fainted from shock. This was an astronomical figure for him. If he had 100,000 yuan, why would he be renting a room in this dirty old street and having to fight for a public toilet stall every morning like it was a battle? This young man was Su He's younger brother, Su Jun. After receiving an interview invitation from the drama academy after the college entrance examination, full of hope for the future, he came to Beijing alone with the eight thousand yuan Su He had scraped together for him. These past few days, he had been renting a room in a private house on Heqian Street, living frugally. To save money, he even stayed up late and slept late, adjusting his biological clock just to save on breakfast.
Unexpectedly, after class today, he encountered such an unwarranted disaster. Facing two burly men glaring at him, Su Jun was filled with fear and despair.
"What's wrong? Taking ten thousand yuan is already being merciful!" The man in the printed t-shirt stared into Su Jun's eyes and said fiercely, "Do you know how much this car cost? Over three million! A brand new car, and you've scratched it like this! If it were me in the past, you wouldn't be seeing the sun tomorrow!"
"I...I don't have that much money..." Under the pressure of the two burly men, Su Jun couldn't help but tremble. "No money?" Upon hearing this, the bald, burly man slapped Su Jun across the face, cursing, "If you didn't have money, you dared to scratch our car!"
"Alright!" The man in the printed t-shirt waved his hand to stop the bald man, walked over, grabbed Su Jun by the collar, and lifted him off the ground, pinning him tightly against the car.
Then the burly man in the printed t-shirt licked his lips and said,
"Kid, if you don't have money, we'll have to talk this over! I, Old Zheng, have been in this business for years. If you scratch my car and walk out unscathed without paying a cent, I'll lose face!"
With that, a cruel smile appeared on the burly man's face.
"According to the rules of the underworld, ten thousand yuan for a finger. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a 50% discount! I'll take your hand! Tell me, do you want your left hand or your right hand?"
Su Jun was immediately terrified. Su Jun, his face contorted in pain, struggled desperately, pleading, "Brothers, I...I really have no money, please let me go! I beg you!"
The burly man in the printed t-shirt sneered and released him. Su Jun immediately collapsed to the ground. The bald man squatted down, toying with a gleaming dagger in one hand, while his other hand grabbed Su Jun's right hand and pressed it firmly to the ground, saying, "Such long, slender fingers! Tsk tsk! They would be perfect for playing the piano! What a pity..."
Su Jun hadn't expected things to turn out this way. Terrified, he struggled desperately, tears streaming down his face, his expression one of extreme fear, pleading incessantly. Occasionally, passersby who witnessed this scene would quickly avoid him.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
A sudden burst of applause rang out from the quiet alleyway entrance. Under the dim streetlights, two figures slowly walked out of the alleyway. "Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!" Chen Yang said with a grin as they walked. "Brother Zhengyi, I made the right decision bringing you out, didn't I? A few drinks later, we've seen a great show!"
Liu Zhengyi also smiled easily and said:
"Indeed! It's been a long time since I've seen such a fantastic reality show!"
The burly man in the printed t-shirt's face darkened. He stood up, sizing up Chen Yang and Liu Zhengyi, and asked:
"What's going on, you two?"
Chen Yang, with an innocent smile, said:
"Nothing much, we're just here to watch the show! You guys continue… I've never seen a real hand being chopped off before! I'd love to see it!"
Chen Yang knew these two were just trying to scare Su Jun. Only by scaring Su Jun could they carry out their next plan! So he continued watching calmly.
"Hmph! Buddy! I advise you to mind your own business!" The burly man in the printed t-shirt glared at Chen Yang with a wolf-like ferocity in his eyes. "You can ask around, I, Zheng Laoxi, have a reputation in the underworld! Friends, you'd better think twice!"
Chen Yang and Liu Zhengyi exchanged a smile. A hoodlum daring to talk tough in front of them? They both found it strangely amusing.
Chen Yang called out loudly:
"Haoran! You come out too!"
As soon as Chen Yang finished speaking, Xu Haoran emerged from the shadows. Xu Haoran was carrying a dejected man in one hand.
Su Jun looked up and immediately recognized him as the man who had inexplicably bumped into him. He couldn't help but shout:
"He's the one who bumped into me! They're in cahoots!"